1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bra having straps that look like clothing and/or match clothing. Additionally, the present invention relates to a bra with interchangeable straps, and more particularly to a bra having a plurality of straps that can be interchanged so that the straps match clothing with which the bra is worn.
2. Related Art
In the present day, clothing is a highly important vehicle for use in expressing oneself, in fitting in with various social groups, and for conveying desired images of oneself to others. Also, it is very fashionable to wear relatively skimpy clothing, i.e., minimal or revealing clothing that exposes the shoulders and arms of a wearer and has thin straps or no straps. Indeed, it has been commented that skin is the most important article of clothing and accordingly, what becomes important, is not the clothing, but how much skin the clothing exposes.
With clothing such as tank tops or tube tops, which have become increasingly stylish as part of a retro movement where people are re-adopting styles from the 1970's, a lot of skin is shown. While these styles typically do not present a problem for women with small or average size breasts, who can wear a top without the need for the support that is provided by a bra, it becomes very problematic for women having larger breasts. Often times, such women have no choice but to wear bras underneath the clothing, which is generally unattractive in that it exposes the bra straps, which detracts from the look that the person is trying to achieve. Even women with smaller breasts may prefer to wear a bra under outerwear.
If, however, the bra straps were made to look like an article of clothing, and/or to match an article of clothing, the look would be much more attractive and would allow women having relatively large breasts to wear the skimpier clothing because the bra would look like an article of clothing and not like a bra. For example, a woman wearing a bra underneath a tank top might appear to be wearing two tank tops as opposed to a bra and a tank top, and it is believed that such a look would be desirable. However, heretofore no one has provided a bra with straps that look like clothing, and/or a bra with straps that match outer clothing.
Efforts in this area include the following:
Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,598, discloses an exercise brassiere having an outer layer adapted to fit over the wearer's upper torso and shoulders. The inner layer and the outer layer are constructed of lightweight, stretchable fabrics. The inner layer has cut-outs for receiving the breasts of the wearer. A middle layer may be provided for extra comfort. A covering layer may be included to cover the outer layer. The covering layer may be constructed of a decorative fabric, suitable to the taste of the wearer, so that the exercise brassiere can be worn alone as a top. A decorative fabric ruffle may be attached along the seam extending about the neck opening.
Hughes, U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,699, discloses an article of clothing for a breast feeding woman. The article of clothing includes an upper member having a loose lower edge and a lower member having an upper edge of a resilient material that can be positioned upward to cover the breasts or can be pulled down to make one of the breasts accessible to a baby. The upper and lower members may be attached together or may be separate pieces to allow a single lower member to be worn with a variety of interchangeable upper members of different styles, and vice versa. The upper member includes straps that extend about a shoulder which may take any form such as straps across the shoulders in a sundress or to the back of the neck in a halter or any other style.
Koenig, U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,928, discloses a garment attachment that can be attached to clothing. The garment attachment is a decorative, flexible panel that can be attached to clothing. The device is attached to clothing by plurality of snap fasteners.
Bergman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,771, discloses a brassiere made of a stretchable fabric that does not include seams, darts, moldings or shaping, but rather stretches around and generally conforms to the wearer's breasts to hold them against the body. The bra does not include clips or buckles, but does include a wide midriff portion in the front, sides and back for improved support. This patent points out that conventional bras worn under sleeveless leotards and sleeveless sports tops, such as tennis or running tops, tend to expose the bra strap, and this visibility of the bra is aesthetically undesirable. The whole of the bra, including the shoulder straps, are made of the same fabric. The bra includes shoulder straps spaced widely apart that can be readily worn under sleeveless leotards and sleeveless sports tops such as tennis running tops which are normally fairly low or wide cut around the neck, without the straps being visible. Also, the bra can be worn as outerwear.
Laudick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,230, discloses a halter top made from a portion of a pair of pants. The connecting straps are formed from material removed from the pants and attached in a configuration such that the former back pockets from the pants make up the cups of the halter top or bra and cover the wearer's breasts. The shoulder and side straps are trimmed to a desired length from the seam of the pants.
Hopps, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,466, discloses a support garment having a multi-layered rectangular front panel and a back panel and two adjustable shoulder straps interconnecting the front panel and the back panel and extending about a wearer's shoulder. The supporting garment can be worn in place of a bra, or over existing clothing or even as an outer garment. The straps are of a wide design to help disburse strain. The straps may be adjustable. The straps are fixed to the back panel and are provided with hook and loop fasteners to interconnect with matching hook and loop fasteners located on the interior surface of the front panel.
Price, U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,715, discloses a patient gown having front and back panels which are identical so that the gown segments are interchangeable from the left side to the right or front to back to alleviate sorting problems in supply rooms.
Gionfriddo, International Patent WO 98/26683, discloses a bra provided with attaching or fastening elements on the shoulder straps which can be used to interconnect shoulder pads having matching fastening elements.
Laage, International Patent CH 442,186, discloses a bra with matching dress and/or matching underwear.
It is also known to provide strapless bras, i.e. bras with a body portion but no straps, as well as tank tops with adjustable straps. Additionally, it is known to provide tank tops with removable straps so that the tank top can be converted to a tube top. Also, it is known to provide a bra with straps which are detachable from the bra body at the back end, and attachable together to form a "halter" style bra. It is submitted, however, that none of these works of others disclose all of the elements of the present invention, nor do they disclose all of the benefits of the present invention.